Scenes from Blyde River Canyon in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Water carved out the beautiful rock formations in Bourke’s Luck Potholes through the centuries while the view from God’s Window allows one to see the ocean over a 1000km (621 miles) away on a clear day, where the air is so thin that you run out of breath just walking to the lookout point.
(c) Cynically Jaded
Surah 17, verse 81. Absolutely one of my favourite verses given the amount of insincerity and dishonesty that plagues the world and our personal relationships these days. It serves as a good reminder at times when you may find yourself on the receiving end of a painful betrayal. Repeated recitation of this verse proved to be very comforting for me under such conditions.
I often see posts of people questioning why the Almighty does not answer their prayers. Then there are atheists that believe that if God existed, we would not have so much evil and cruelty in this world because a benevolent god would never allow that to happen. All that this proves is that we have a power of choice and reason that we are able to apply in our lives to inform our choices, because it is this same power of choice and reason informed by our intellect that confirms that we are free thinking beings. By extension, this confirms the indisputable fact that we have a limited free will. Limited because anyone that has lived a single day of conscious being knows that we cannot control everything around us, hence our need to determine the difference between that which we can change, and that which we can’t. So we pursue the acquisition of wisdom that would help us identify the difference. At least that’s what we should be doing if we’re self-aware.
Bearing the above in mind, why then would it be reasonable to expect the Almighty’s intervention in every unsavoury experience of our lives where we may lack the courage or resources to set aright that which is wrong? Are not the bad choices of some the test of character of others? Or do we believe that everyone should be good and wholesome and no one should slight anyone else, because then we’ll finally have peace on earth and all will be right with the world? But then, again, I ask you, what would be the purpose of our existence?
If not to exercise our power of reason and choice towards acquiring good in our lives, then what? If there was no bad, what would we need to strive for? Something that I’ve been more aware of recently is that anything bad requires no restraint at all. If you want to damage, destroy or eliminate something, it’s not restraint that is needed, but in fact a healthy dose of indulgence. But anything good that we wish to achieve or acquire requires restraint in ways that we rarely imagine when committing to a noble goal.
So it seems that sitting back and feeling like a victim waiting for the world to treat you right is a fool’s endeavour that will never come to pass. We need to be conscious in our efforts to oppress the oppressors. If not, if we cower in the face of a challenge and believe that we’re not worthy, we lose any right to claim fulfilment in a life fraught with suffering and challenges. Evil is not an incarnation of its own. It simply manifests itself in the absence of good. Therefore, it’s not evil that exists, but rather good that ceases to. And given that effort is required to uphold good, there can be no overcoming of evil unless we apply ourselves to a course that is destined to realise that which we seek in our own lives.
Investing in people when they’re down and out is one of the most painful things I do in my life, because when they’re over their trough of depression, they rarely want to know me. I think my presence in their lives beyond that point reminds them of their weakened state, and so to spare their ego, they’d rather block out the unpleasant phase and focus on being their new idea of awesome.
In the meantime, I recede and watch from afar how they blossom now that they’re emerging from their darkness into a state of self-enlightenment, with a million questions forming in my mind about their present state, sometimes venturing as far as asking them a few, but receding again when my approach is ignored. And so the circle of life continues. For some, we’re here only to nourish them when all else fails, and for others, we’re only here to be nourished by them when all else fails.
We can’t afford to be weak for a single moment longer than the time it takes to feel overwhelmed. The vulnerability is too scary, that’s why we have to detach ourselves from those that know of our weakness the moment we regain our strength, because we’re afraid that the reminder will hold us back, when in fact it only grounds us, and keeps us humble. But humility is not in vogue.
The Three Rondawels in the Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga, South Africa
(c) Cynically Jaded
It gets its name because of the striking resemblance to a common type of hut used as a dwelling throughout rural South Africa. I took this photo in the mid-90’s with my trusty old 35mm camera, and had it scanned in much later. Hence the washed out look. Still one of the most beautiful parts of this country.
I want to astral travel. It’s something that has fascinated me all my life, and for some reason I was reminded about it again tonight. But my mind is always racing these days, so I’ll never be able to achieve the meditative state that will make it possible. But I want to do it really badly. This physical form just doesn’t hold much appeal for me any longer.
I want to be able to voluntarily step outside of my body and observe the world through untethered eyes. I want to see how truly enslaved we are by our physical form so that I can appreciate every vision that I behold of spaces I’ll never be able to fill. I don’t just want to dream. I want to will myself to travel through the earth without boundaries, or limitations in movement or passage. I want to liberate my spirit from my physical form so that I can immerse myself into the beauty of the physical form.
It’s always in the absence of something that it is appreciated, and perhaps the same will be true for my body. I’m not unappreciative for my health and my physical abilities. I consider myself blessed in every way. But this will give me an insight and appreciation that would otherwise not be possible. I want to rise above myself, deliberately and consciously. But not permanently, just yet.
Reputed to be the oldest mosque in Africa, located in Kairouan, Tunisia – June, 2008
(c) Cynically Jaded
The most amazing thing about this mosque, apart from it’s monumental design and fascinating symmetry, is the fact that it was built out of materials salvaged from the ruins of a Roman monument. Now that’s a strong message to send to your colonisers!
If questioning would make us wise
No eyes would ever gaze in eyes;
If all our tale were told in speech
No mouths would wander each to each.
Were spirits free from mortal mesh
And love not bound in hearts of flesh
No aching breasts would yearn to meet
And find their ecstasy complete.
For who is there that lives and knows
The secret powers by which he grows?
Were knowledge all, what were our need
To thrill and faint and sweetly bleed?
Then seek not, sweet, the “If” and “Why”
I love you now until I die.
For I must love because I live
And life in me is what you give.
~ Christopher Brennan (1870-1932)